

April 2010

The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) is actively seeking 2010 summer internships for undergraduates in the CIM program. "The CIM students are able to gain valuable hands-on experience and exposure, while learning more about the concrete industry," said Brian Gallagher, Chair of the CIM Marketing Committee. "Not only are the students learning, but they are also contributing to the companies that are providing the internships."

CIM Interships

Internships provide valuable learning experiences

According to Gallagher, the internships regularly lead to full-time employment opportunities. "There are numerous examples of CIM students that have transitioned from internships to full-time positions," he said. "The internships have proven to be an excellent vehicle for companies to find their next generation of talent."

If your company is able to provide a much-needed summer internship for an undergraduate or graduate student, please contact the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's Nicole Maher at (240) 485-1158 or via email at nmaher@nrmca.org .

NSC Meeting at MTSU

The CIM National Steering Committee (NSC) Meeting, Board of Directors Meeting and Committee Meetings will be held May 6th at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro, TN. For information on the meeting please contact Nicole Maher, nmaher@nrmca.org .

On May 5th, the MTSU Patron's Group will be holding their Annual Golf Tournament. Sponsorship and golfing opportunities are still available. For more information on the event, please contact Becky Linville, blinvill@mtsu.edu .

On Campus: CIM Program Updates

Arizona State University

ASU Program Update

The CIM program at ASU has increased the number of students since the fall semester of 2009 from 26 to 37! We are proud to announce that the average cumulative GPA of these students is now 3.29. We also have 6 high school students who have been accepted into the CIM program for Fall 2010 and 15 more in varying stages of the application process.

The program produced its first graduate in August 2009, three more will graduate in May 2010, two will graduate in December 2010 and three will graduate in May 2011. ASU is pleased to report that all students graduating through May 2010 will be employed upon graduation!

ACI March Meeting

Despite being ASU spring break, the AZ-ACI March meeting drew four CIM students to hear the program on March 17. The ACI student chapter sponsored the April 21st luncheon and thanks to Angela Brown, Michael Carter from Propex spoke on the latest in fiber technology.

Student Participation at ACI Spring Convention

Six student ACI chapter members (four CIM students) attended the spring ACI Convention in Chicago

ASU ACI Team

ASU CIM Students at ACI

and participated in the Pervious Concrete Competition and the Concrete Construction Competition. Alex Bertheau, James Morschauser, and Kendra Warner took 3rd place out of 38 competing teams in the Construction competition as well as 16th place out of 30 teams in the Pervious Concrete Competition. Ting Ting Chen and Christian Sosinski placed 8th in the pervious competition.

ASU Student Club Offers Free Tutoring

The student club at ASU is continuing its program to provide service to its fellow CIM students by offering free tutoring. The club is hosting a gathering each week during the semester where upper class students are offering free help for students in all CIM courses with a particular focus on supporting the students in CIM 106.

The club is also interested in participating in service opportunities whereby the students can give something back to the community and perhaps gain some hands-on concrete knowledge. If you or your company is engaged in a project which could benefit from additional physical or mental effort, please contact Jim Ernzen at james.ernzen@asu.edu .

California State University - Chico

Chico State Conducts Tests of Advanced Highway Surface Preparation/ Protection Treatment

The Chico State CIM program is involved in test applications and evaluation of a ground-breaking patent pending reactive silicon lithium polysilicate chemistry (SiRE�), commonly known as Transil and Transil Plus, which chemically reacts with concrete to offer unique wear resistant surface hardening characteristics. This combined effort incorporates mechanical profiling machinery and equipment with the SiRE� technology to maximize pavement longevity, increase overall durability on new construction pavements surfaces, and add life to new and existing pavements by mechanically restoring friction levels and then protecting and preserving the surface with the specific surface wearing chemical treatment.

This tool box approach holds great promise for reducing costs, minimizing the impact on traffic, and decreasing highway downtime, construction hazards, accidents, and delays. Chico State researchers, lead by Tanya Wattenburg Komas, have participated in test applications in California and will help develop appropriate testing procedures to evaluate success of the applications and conduct life cycle cost studies.

CIM Field School at Golden Gate National Park

With funding through an award from the FY2010 Cultural Resource Stewardship Grant Program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Chico State CIM program will work with National Parks Service personnel to begin the first summer program of the CIM Field School set to begin June 1st. Students are currently being evaluated to participate in this inaugural year project. Successful applicants will spend the summer living in Parks Service barracks in Golden Gate Park and work with Parks Service Repair crews to evaluate and repair the historic prison at Alcatraz as well as concrete battlements along the Northern California coast. This program is planned as an ongoing learning opportunity for four CIM students each summer.

Concrete Repair Class Prepares Students for ICRI Certifications

The Chico State CIM program is preparing students to sit for the International Concrete Repair Institute's (ICRI) new ICRI Floor Moisture Testing Technician Certification and the upcoming ICRI Surface Repair Inspector Certification that is due out by the end of 2010. As part of the Concrete Repair class, CIM students participate in a multitude of laboratory and field applications and testing, including bond pull-off and floor moisture testing, which will prepare them for the certification exams that will be required as part of the program in the near future.

Overview of Fundamentals and Applications Classes

In the Fundamentals and Testing class, Chico State CIM students were treated to a virtual who's who of the industry's top QA/QC people in the California region. Pete Conlin from A&A Concrete, Greg Guecia from Masterbuilders/BASF, Mark Hill from Syar Concrete, John Schmidt from Teichert Aggregates, Greg Juell from Lehigh Cement and Mark Hayden with Knife River were just a few of the industry professionals who volunteered their time to come to Chico and assist with these classes.

The culmination of this effort was the ACI Field Testing Certification test and all 27 students passed the practical exam. In the Applications and Methods class, the ACI Flatwork Finisher exam was administered by Al Kaufman who also volunteered his time. The test results are not yet in, but everyone is confident that everything went quite well.

After a presentation on Pervious Concrete by Paulette Salisbury of the California Nevada Cement Promotional Council, the students had a pervious concrete competition in the lab, with the end product judged by the T.A.s on the basis of appearance and functionality. Students also participated in a rapid set concrete trial, and the students are becoming quite proficient on the program's new Toni-Teknik compression machine as a result. In addition to lab projects, the students also surveyed and submitted a proposal to the Dean to place concrete paving on a University parking lot that currently exists as a gravel covered eye-sore. The Facilities Management class added a new module on basic legal issues that a manager may be faced with in his or her career. Volunteering his time to make this presentation was Dave Cohen of the law firm Cohen-Durrett, based in Sacramento. Dave described in detail common legal pitfalls that managers encounter, and the best and easiest ways to avoid them. Many thanks to the excellent group of guest speakers who continue to take the time to share their expertise and vast industry knowledge in helping shape this strong group of future industry leaders.

Middle Tennessee State University

CIM "Hits The Road"

Spring semester at MTSU always seems to be the busiest travel semester to the industry events, and Spring 2010 has been no exception. This year the MTSU CIM calendar began at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas with 24 students attending accompanied by Dr. Heather Brown, Becky Linville and Sally Bradford. Also in attendance, representing the MTSU CIM Patrons, were Jim Speakman, Ward Poston, Chris Davenport and Erin Christie. Three of the MTSU students, Kelly Cloud, Trevor Hartz and Matthew Gerdes worked with Cal State Chico CIM students in the concrete artistry area at WOC to create replicas of the World Trade Center towers with names of fallen firefighters engraved into the concrete.

Dr. Jerry Morton and four students attended the Precast Show in Phoenix, AZ sponsored by PCI in February.

March held two trips with Dr. Marcus Knight taking six students to the NRMCA's Annual Conference in Austin, TX and Becky Linville accompanying four students to NCMA/ICPI ICON Expo in San Antonio, TX.

CIM Program Hosts Knoxville Mayor

Speaking with officials at Middle Tennessee State University on April 16th , Republican gubernatorial candidate and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam emphasized the important role Tennessee's four-year higher education institutions will play in helping develop high quality jobs.

During his visit, Mayor Haslam met with Dr. Heather Brown, Mr. Joe Bales, V.P. for Development and Alumni Relations and three CIM Patrons - Ward Poston, Jim Speakman and Denny Lind and discussed the unique CIM program model. Mayor Haslam also took a lab tour and walked around the building.

Mayor Haslam was quoted as saying that the Concrete Industry Management program is a great example of business and higher education coming together to forge a partnership that benefits the school, the students, and the industry. "Mayor Haslam's visit to MTSU gave us an opportunity to share the model of industry and academia that could be passed along to other college majors," said Dr. Brown. "When asked how that could be done with any degree, we shared the importance of having insight into the employer's needs. If the end users had input and relationships with the students throughout their college experience, then the bridge to a full-time career is more seamless."

MTSU Team Places 2nd In ACI Competition

MTSU ACI Chicago

MTSU CIM students place 2nd in ACI competition

In March, Dr. Heather Brown and Dr. Jerry Morton attended the ACI Convention in Chicago and brought along nine students. Shortly before the ACI Convention, MTSU was notified that three of the top 10 teams in the Concrete Construction Competition were from MTSU. Two of the CIM students attending the convention were part of the five member AGC student chapter team that placed 2nd in that competition and were presented their award in Chicago. That team was made up of CIM students Daniel Cook, Trevor Hartz (who was not able to attend) and Andy Steffen. The other two team members were Brady Turner and Manuel Carranza, both Construction Management students at MTSU. The rest of the students attending the ACI conference from MTSU were either a part of the concrete bowling ball team or the pervious concrete team.

CIM Assists Sigma Phi Epsilon

As part of their organization's effort to make improvements to their fraternity house, the MTSU Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon worked with the CIM students to build a 60-foot-long concrete sidewalk. Future projects have been planned after the successful installation of the sidewalk.

MTSU Events

Events at MTSU include:
�         The 4th annual Women's Luncheon was held on April 21st from Noon -2 p.m.
�         The Patrons/EAC spring meeting will be held on May 5th from 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
�         The National Steering Committee will meet on May 6th on campus.
�         Graduation Day on Saturday, May 8th with approximately 25 new CIM graduates.

Join Us For the 6th Annual CIM Building Campaign Golf Tournament
The sixth annual CIM Building Campaign Golf Tournament - which benefits the Concrete Industry Management Building Campaign at Middle Tennessee State University - will be held Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at Indian Hills Golf Club in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Last year more than $38,500 was raised.
With your support of the CIM Building Campaign, MTSU will be able to create a state-of-the-art facility to house the program as it moves toward even higher levels of prominence and success. This is a great opportunity to support education and have fun on the golf course with colleagues in the concrete and construction industry.

For information about participating in the CIM golf tournament click this link to view the brochure with all of the tournament's information. We hope to see you there!
http://mtsucim.com/files/725/File/CIM_Golf_Brochure_2010.pdf

New Jersey Institute of Technology

NYCFD

NJIT CIM students in NYC

NJIT Students Visit World Trade Center Memorial Construction Site

NJIT CIM students received a special invitation from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to view $23 billion of construction at the New York World Trade Center site. Dr. Mohamed Mahgoub, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Mr. Allyn Luke in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering accompanied the students during the week of April 5th to the construction site, where they had the opportunity to ask questions about the project and job opportunities as they viewed the onsite mixing and testing of concrete.

Texas State University

TSU Program Update

We are pleased to report that we have 19 majors enrolled in the program. For Spring 2010, the following courses are available:

TECH 1260 - Introduction to the Construction and Concrete Industry
TECH 2313 - Fundamentals of Architectural Problem-Solving and Design
TECH 2342 - Construction Materials and Processes
TECH 2351 - Statistics and Strength of Materials
CIM 3420 - Fundamentals of Concrete: Properties and Testing
CIM 4330 - Management of Concrete Products - Ordering and Scheduling

Our concrete laboratory is now operation with nearly 3,000 square feet which covers wet and dry areas. The Sicoma MP 75 laboratory mixer has been installed in this laboratory as well.

Students Receive CIM Scholarships

Ten CIM majors received the first ever CIM scholarships awarded by Texas State University-San Marcos in March 2010. The students receiving scholarships were formally recognized at the Annual Departmental Awards Day event on April 23, 2010.

ACI Student Chapter Approved

ACI Texas State University - San Marcos student chapter was officially approved by ACI Chapter Activities Committee on March 19, 2010. This chapter is being sponsored by ACI, San Antonio.

TSU Out and About

Approximately 15 current and potential CIM students, together with executives representing the CIM program sponsoring companies and the CIM faculty attended a social get together on January 26th in San Marcos. The objective of the meeting was to facilitate social interaction between current CIM majors and the industry and to recruit new majors.

On February 17th, at the invitation of ACI - San Antonio, Drs. Sriraman and Gaedicke made a presentation on our CIM program at the monthly meeting in San Antonio. Six CIM students attended and worked as student assistants at the NRMCA annual convention in Austin between March 14th and March 16th.

Texas State hosted a seminar for the Cement Council of Texas entitled "NRMCA Pervious Concrete Technician Certification Course and Written Examination" on April 16th.

Spotlight: Education Committee

Recently, the Education Committee heard a presentation by Dr. Alister Wells of Tekla Structures on

Dr. Rex Cottle

Dr. Rex Cottle, Education Committee Chair

how MTSU will be incorporating building information model (BIM) into relevant courses. BIM allows general contractors, owners, engineers, and sub-contractors to share real time information on a construction project. Brian Gallagher and Kimberly Kayler's new book, Leading With Marketing, was reviewed for possible adoption for marketing related courses. These presentations reflect our commitment to provide state-of-the-art material to our students.

The committee also reviewed a draft of a CIM Program Accreditation document prepared by Dr.Jerry Hight and Dean Mike Ward from CSU. After reviewing the draft and discussing several suggestions, Dr. Hight was asked to chair a sub-committee comprised of program directors and patrons from our universities to incorporate the proposed changes into a document for the Education Committee to review in May.

Dr. Heather Brown led a discussion on questions to be used in a survey of CIM graduates who have been in the concrete industry for two or more years. Results of the survey will be reported at the meeting in May.

The Annual Program Review template was discussed. It was agreed that the annual review should focus on historical, current, and future items so that it portrays an accurate picture of where the programs have come and what they are striving to achieve. Every four years, an intensive review will be conducted on the campus of the program being reviewed by representatives of the National Steering Committee. This review will begin in the Fall of 2010.

The CIM program directors will develop a matrix of topics covered in the CIM courses and the coverage given to each aspect of the concrete industry. Once finalized, this matrix will be forwarded to the participating concrete associations.

CIM Student Profile: Greg Mercurio

This month, we chose to highlight Greg Mercurio, a senior at the California State University - Chico. Greg is very unique in that he will graduate with a double major and has some great insight into the CIM program and success he experienced with his internship at NRMCA.

Greg Mercurio

Greg Mercurio, CSU-Chico Senior

Why did you choose the CIM program and California State University - Chico?

When I first came to Chico State, I was a pre-business administration major. I had a background in construction and was considering switching my major to construction management. I was told about the Concrete Industry Management major and attended their first patron's meeting and was blown away by the industry support. I decided to keep my business major and add the CIM program.

I chose to come to Chico State because I loved the small college town atmosphere and the people are very friendly.

What is your current major and anticipated graduation date?

I will be graduating this spring, May 22, 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Concrete Industry Management and Business Administration and a Minor in Managing for Sustainability

What classes did you enjoy the most? The least?

Every class in the CIM curriculum was a great experience, but the ones I enjoyed the most were Sustainability in the Built Environment and Decorative Concrete. The classes I enjoyed the least were Human Resources and Chemistry.

Can you tell us about your internship with NRMCA?

To be completely honest I had no idea what to expect. The internship was put together just weeks before the summer and I don't think they were sure what to do with me. They found some projects for me and it turned out to be a great experience. I was able to learn a lot about the concrete industry as a whole while meeting some great people.

During your internship, you developed the LEED Calculator program. Tell us how this developed.

It started out as a one page excel spreadsheet with a few simple calculations. As I got more familiar with excel I was able to add more features to it until it eventually became a multiple page program that looked nothing like a spreadsheet. You can purchase the calculator through the NRMCA's website.http://my.nrmca.org/scriptcontent/BeWeb/Orders/ProductDetail.cfm?pc=2PLC1

Why did you choose this internship?

I chose this internship and organization because of my interest in sustainability within the concrete industry, which was the focus area of the projects during the internship. I also liked the idea of working for this organization because you meet a lot of people with different backgrounds in the concrete industry.

How has the CIM program prepared you for the "real world"?

I can't stress enough the amount of industry involvement in the CIM program. Just about every core class in the program includes a lab component where we get industry experts to teach the labs. We are also one of the only majors on campus that requires an internship to graduate. The curriculum was also designed by industry experts to ensure that we are learning what is relevant to the industry.

What advice would you give to current CIM students?

I advise current students to take advantage of all the people around them that are investing in their future. We have a rare major where so many people care about our futures and are willing to help. Take the time to get to know these people. I know that many students in other majors would love to have the same opportunities that we have.

CIM Annual Report Available

Cim Annual Report Cover

The National Steering Committee for CIM recently released the 2008-2009 Annual Report for the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program. "The past fiscal year has resulted in a wealth of success and growth for the CIM program. By meeting the needs of the committees, and identifying opportunities for continued expansion, support was established on a local and national level," said Gene Martineau, executive director.

The 2008-2009 CIM Annual Report includes:

Reports from all committees (Education, Marketing/Public Relations, Auction, Recruitment, Finance and Long Range Planning)
Institutional reports from all five CIM programs
Industry Patron profiles
Profiles of CIM Graduates
Executive Board member profiles

According to Martineau, "The undeniably success of the 2008-2009 year has been rewarding to both the industry and the graduates. This report serves as an inspiration to the concrete industry that I am proud to be a part of, and exemplifies the importance of the CIM program."

To view and download a copy of the Annual Report, visit: CIM Annual Report

CIM on Facebook!

CIM has created a fan page on Facebook, and we would like to invite you to become a fan (search for the CIM program in the Pages Category). This page was created as a resource for students and professionals to communicate and interact. With the huge growth of social media as a communication medium as well as a recruiting tool, we believe those who participate will greatly benefit.